There Are Just Some Things the US Can’t Offer…

As I sit here early in the morning reflecting on the many attributes of Nicaragua that I love I am reminded that there are so many things that the United States just can’t offer me. Although I will always refer to Indianapolis as my “hometown”, Nicaragua has most definitely stolen my heart. As I think about returning “home” in just a little over a month I am saddened to think about how different my life will be. Here are a few things that the United States probably won’t be able to offer me…
 
After a long run past mountains, volcanoes, cows, horses, chickens, street dogs, and many more creatures, I am greeted everyday by the sweetest cooks on the face of the planet. God blessed me with two wonderful women of God to get my day started on the right foot!
 
Once I go back home, I am doubting that anyone will be okay with me just hanging out and having a conversation or napping for an hour before I get back to work after a nice filling lunch. The pace of life here is so much more relaxed, that is something I am going to miss probably more than I realize.
 
Although I can’t imagine this now, I know some day when I get back home I will really wish I was sitting at the kitchen table eating rice and beans.
 
When I go back to the city I know there won’t be any one chasing my car down the street yelling my name and “GRINGA!” I know I will not feel as loved by people in the United States as I do here and I know that will be really hard for me.
 
My body will probably not be used as a jungle gym and I will miss the feeling of kids hanging on to every inch and limb as if they are never going to let go.
 
I will no longer have to use my “math face” to convert money in my head from Cordoba to USD or vice versa, and will no longer have the exchange rate working in my favor, things back home are going to feel very expensive.
 
I won’t be able to walk down the street and buy a Choco Banano or a Bole (basically a popsicle in a bag). Or when I hear a bell, I know that my heart will jump thinking it is the man with the ice cream cart, everyone here in Nicaragua knows I have an unhealthy obsession with ice cream, even the Nicaraguans.
 
My feet will probably be clean everyday when I get back home and I will most definitely miss the feeling of thinking I am tan when really I am just covered by the dirt and dust from walking the streets of the village.
 
I will miss waking up to a rooster crowing, or Thelma’s (one of the workers on the project) beautiful but extremely loud singing, or running to the truck hoping not to get left by our wonderful driver Mario after he calls out in his best English accent “LET’S GO PEOPLE!” I will also miss Lotte, my Nicaraguan dog and the way she follows my every step waiting for a belly rub or some dropped food.
 
I will miss the beautiful weather, the breeze that keeps you cool and blows the beautiful trees, the beach that is only 20 minutes down the road, the ability to go outside and lay in one of the many hammocks and read a book. I will miss the time I spent every morning reading my bible out on the porch and then spending time talking about it with my dear friend and sister Lindsey. I will miss how miraculously clean my clothes get after Thelma washes them, I am convinced that she makes them cleaner than before I bought them!
 
But more than ANYTHING, I will miss the relationships I have built during my time in Nicaragua. Thinking about the day I have to say goodbye to my Nicaraguan friends and family is seriously painstaking I know that “ocho de Mayo” or May 8^th, the day we leave Nica will be full of many tears and very hard goodbyes.
 
But May 9^th, that day right now seems absolutely IMPOSSIBLE. You see when you spend every day for four months growing in Christ and with each other with the MOST INCREDIBLE 12 YOUNG ADULTS IN THE WORLD, saying goodbye seems more unbearable than puking (if you are my teammate or someone that knows me well you understand this reference). But seriously, these individuals have pushed me, encouraged me, called me into greatness, and have been a huge part of the transformation that God has brought me through. Being back in the U.S. without having plenty other friends surrounding me at every second of the day I am sure is going to feel very lonely and sorrowful at sometimes, but I know in those moments I will have trust that God is always with me even when my Pies Hermosos team is spread across the country. I really wish I could go visit them all this summer, but unfortunately plane tickets are REALLY expensive and I will be back to the busyness of life.
 
But through all of this reflecting I have also realized that Indianapolis is NOT my home, but neither is Nicaragua. My home is eternal. My home is with my heavenly Father, and everything I have on this earth is only because my Lord and Savior entrusted it to me.
 
I know I still have more than a month left, but after a couple of my teammates were called back home I realized that I don’t want to take any second here in Nicaragua for granted, because as you can see there are going to many things that are going to seem impossible to leave here in Nicaragua. But I know God has purpose and has my days numbered here and His timing is perfect. Please pray that these last 7 weeks my teammates and I will be wholeheartedly seeking after the Lord and His will and that we would realize what a BLESSING it is that we were called here to Nicaragua.
 
Thank you God for Indianapolis, for Nicaragua, and most of all that you promise that one day you will call me to my REAL HOME for eternity with you!